The town of Galway has a history quite different from the
surrounding county. This is because it was taken over by
the Anglo-Normans very early in their conquest of
Connacht. The small Irish town then at the mouth of the
Corrib, and known as Ballinsruthaun (Streamstown would be
the best translation) was taken immediately, and it's
name changed to Galvia (Latin); Gaillimh (Irish ) or
Galway (English). It became a very powerful & wealthy
city, and its citizens became rich from their trade links
with the European continent. For hundreds of years, it
was an isolated Norman outpost within a hostile
countryside, and when the town built it's medieval walls,
it had inscribed over it's west gate the words "from
the ferocious O'Flaherties, Good Lord deliver us".
Galway corporation also passed a bye-law prohibiting the
native Irish from settling within its walls, stating that
"neither O nor Mac shall strut nor swagger through
the streets of Galway". In time, of course, in
common with most of the other Norman families, the Norman
families of Galway became more Irish than the Irish
themselves. By the time Cromwell put an end to their
power, he was able to refer to the clannish ways of the
14 main families as the "Tribes of Galway".

The O and Mac is a most interesting reference, worthy of
explanation, and they were employed because they
indicated Gaelic names. When surnames became the way to
go, around a thousand years ago, most Gaelic families
would use the term Mac. This is the Gaelic word meaning
Son; so that Donal Mac Padraig, for example, would
actually mean Donald, the son of Patrick. In time,
perhaps a family had a more distinguished grandfather or
other elder, whom they wished to remember. So they
introducted the term Ó, which means from, or descended
from. (The Gaelic Ó should be written with an accent
over the letter O, and not an apostrophe. This has the
effect of having the letter pronounced as a long Oh,
instead of a short Uh!) Thus if our Donald above had a
son called John, John might wish to commemorate his
grandfather by referring to himself as Sean Mac Donal Ó Phádraic. His children might
then become Mac Sean or Ó
Donal; and because this can lead to so much confusion,
the earlier Ó and Mac were settled upon, without having
to change every generation.

And so it was for the Larkin families. The name was
originally Ó Lorcáin in Gaelic, and the surname Lorcan
persisted in common use in County Galway until the middle
of the 19th century. Indeed, the Larkin name in East
Galway is still pronounced Lorcan. The Gaelic name Ó
Lorcáin would have derived from an adjective such as
Lorc, meaning "the fierce one." This suggests a
fierce warrior clan in pre-medieval times. The Ó
Lorcáin families of East Galway are actually descendants
of the princes of the Uí Máine and Síol Anmhchada area
of County Galway. The territory they occuppied was known
as Uí Máine in the old Gaelic days; named for Máine, a
son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an heroic medieval
figure of the Gaelic days. This is the area still
referred to as Hy Many. The remainder of the area (Síol
Anmhchada) was named for Ambrose Ó Madden, leader of the
Madden Clan, who were kith & kin of the Larkins.
Indeed the Gaelic name for the town of Lawrencetown in
East Galway is still Baile Mór Síol Anmhchada. In time,
with increasing anglicisation of the surnames, the O
Maddens became the Maddens, and the Ó Lorcáins became first Lorcans,
then Larkins. The first of the Ó Lorcáin clan so named seems
to have been Lorcán Mac Morán, who flourished about 905
AD. His son was called Donal MacLorcáin, and became lord
of Aidhne in south west county Galway. Donal died at the royal monastery
of Clonmacnois in 937 A.D. His grandson was
names Raigan MacFinnerty Ó Lorcáin, and was a warrior
in the service of the king of Connacht Seán Fergal Ó
Ruairc, in 955 AD. The Larkin clan were considered kith & kin
to the Ó Maddens, the Ó Kelly's, the Mac Cosgair (Cosgrave) the Ó
Fionnachta (Finnerty) Clan and Ó Mooney
clans. All shared a common lineage going back to the princes of Hy
Many. The Ó Lorcáin branch were descended specifically from Forbasach Ó
Madden, the 3rd son of Anmchadh Ó Madden (Ambrose Madden, named above).
The Larkin name is now found in all
the provinces of Ireland, but still most numerously in
Connacht; and most specifically, in East County Galway.
The Galway branch is genetically free-standing i.e. there
is no genetic or family connection to the other Irish or
English families who bear the same name. This is because
the names were anglicised separately & independently,
and actually applied to several separate, distinct and unconnected clans or
families.

The story of Irish emigration is now well known, and fast
being consigned to history; suffice to say that it is no
longer necessary, and those who go today do so to gain
experience or adventure. As often as not, they come back.
But those who left in the darker times between 1850 and
1950 have left thousands of descendants in countries far
and wide; Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia,
France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Russia, the Ukraine and Argentina. So, lets
start talking.